DR. SAMUEL T. BOORMAN
September 15, 1924 - April 24, 2008
Dr. Samuel (Sam) T. Boorman passed away on Thursday April 24th at the age of 83. Sam and his twin sister Mary were born in Lacombe, Alberta, on September 15th, 1924. They were the youngest of a family of five that included George, Arthur, and Betty. Their mother Mary Elizabeth died in childbirth, and they were raised by an aunt and uncle, rejoining the family at age six.
In 1942, Sam joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and trained on the Anson. He was stationed in Vulcan, Alberta, but because of an oversupply of bomber pilots, he was never sent overseas. After the war ended in 1945, Sam studied medicine at the University of Edmonton (U of A). During the summers he worked as a Greyhound Bus driver, and received a “100, 000 Mile” pin. In 1952 Sam met Joan (nee Gilmour), who had just graduated as a nurse at the U of A and they were married that fall.
Sam loved medicine, and trained as a general surgeon. He completed a practicum year at the Ford Hospital in Detroit, then studied and worked in Montreal, receiving his FRCPS (Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons) in 1957. Sam practiced medicine in Dawson Creek, BC for 34 years. In 1981 Sam and Joan moved to Comox B.C., where Sam continued to practice surgery until retiring in 1989.
Sam was an active sportsman all his life. He golfed avidly in the summers and skied in the winters. In 2001, Sam’s dear wife Joan became afflicted with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) and he cared for her until she died in their house on May 26th, 2002. Sam stayed active for several years after Joan’s death and his lifelong positive attitude never waned. Although afflicted with gradual onset dementia, he managed with help in his own home in Comox until the fall of 2006, when he moved to the Westbank care facility.
Sam is predeceased by his wife Joan and his twin sister Mary. Sam leaves behind seven grandchildren, four children, Jim (Renate), Gordon (Julie), Mary (David), and Phil (Tracey), brother George (Blanche), brother Arthur (Margaret), and sister Betty, and many loved nieces, nephews, and friends. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, a donation to your favorite charity will honor his memory. A Memorial Service will be held on May 17th, 2008 at the Peachland, BC United Church.